Once I finally got my rib back from Rex’s mischievous dogs, Mom drove us to Yoko’s gallery to drop Hana off. Then we headed home. She gave me some medicine Claude had prepared for her a long time ago. According to her, thanks to the little dogs patching me up, I didn’t need to see Claude in person; these pills would be enough.

  “I can’t believe it still works,” Mom said, reading the faded label on the bottle. “It’s been years since Claude gave me this. Maybe before you were born.”

  “I don’t feel anything,” I said.

  “Just go to sleep. Claude’s stuff works best when you’re resting.”

  “Alright… but should I expect a surprise training session at midnight? Zombie raccoons breaking into my room or something?”

  “No, you’ll be safe until morning,” she assured me with a smile. Then she added, “But get ready to meet Jesus tomorrow.”

  “What?!”

  “We’re going to Sunday Mass,” she clarified.

  That caught me completely off guard. We weren’t exactly atheists, but going to church wasn’t something we did often either.

  ***

  After a long bath, I dragged myself to my room to rest and let the medicine kick in. We got home late in the afternoon (not quite night yet), and I was more tired than sleepy. I flicked on the TV, but there was nothing worth watching.

  Then my phone beeped. I got a message from Hana.

  “It was so cool to fight those monster dogs today! Does your mom have anything special planned for tomorrow? I’m free on Sunday.”

  “She said she has plans for every day until next Saturday,” I typed back.

  “Great! Mind if I tag along? I want some special partners too.”

  “You’ll have to ask Mom. I don’t know what she has lined up.”

  She went offline right after that. A minute later, I heard Mom’s phone ringing downstairs. She picked up.

  A few moments later, another ping from Hana: “She said I can join!”

  “You seriously just called her for that right now?” I wrote.

  “Nope. My mom called her. :) By the way, have you recovered from the fight yet?”

  “Mostly. Do you know who that Judge guy is? I’m still clueless about the famous paranormal fighters.”

  “He’s pretty well-known in Europe. Kinda notorious, actually. He can get violent. You’re lucky he held back against you, probably because of your mom.”

  “By the way, do you know anything about my mom’s past in paranormal fights? She never told me. I didn’t even know she was paranormal until yesterday.”

  “Wow! Did she at least show you her powers?”

  “No. I assume they’re the same as mine, just stronger. Wouldn’t surprise me if she could karate chop a boulder in half.”

  “Heh. Well, my mom has recordings of some of the old fights. I’ve seen your mom in them, and trust me, her powers weren’t the same as yours.”

  “Really?!”

  “Yeah. Paranormals don’t always inherit the same powers as their parents. It depends on what kind of paranormals they are.”

  I began thinking. If my abilities weren’t from Mom, maybe they came from my father. But I’d never met him, never even knew if he was normal or not. I could already tell I’d have to ask Mom some uncomfortable questions soon.

  “So… what’s my mom’s power then?” I asked.

  “No spoilers ;) But I can show you the videos. Some of us from training are doing a movie night next week, watching recordings of famous matches. You should come. It’s the best way to learn about paranormal fights.”

  “Sounds great. I don’t know Mom’s full schedule, but I doubt she’ll mind.”

  ***

  “Where are we going? Yoko’s place isn’t this way,” I asked as Mom drove.

  I had no idea what to expect today. She told me to wear sports gear, so I already knew we weren’t heading to Sunday Mass, whatever she meant by it yesterday. Still, I couldn’t imagine what kind of “training” would start at a church.

  “Hana knows where the church is,” Mom said. “She likes to start every morning with a run. She might actually beat us there.”

  We were just a few streets away from the church when I spotted someone running on the opposite sidewalk: a quick, familiar figure matching our car’s speed, hopping over benches and curbs.

  It was Hana.

  Even without seeing her face clearly, I recognized her long black hair and the same sports outfit she had worn during Friday’s tournament. She had a face now, though I couldn’t make out the details while she ran.

  By the time we pulled into the church parking lot, she was already there.

  I climbed out of the car just as she finished her final stretch, breathing evenly like she didn’t just sprint a mini-marathon.

  “Ohayou, everyone,” Hana greeted with a cheeky grin, wearing her usual human face.

  “Morning,” I nodded. “How the hell did you run that fast?”

  “One of my faces has that ability,” she explained. “The Oni one makes me stronger, but this one’s built for speed.”

  “Cool,” I said, though I couldn’t help noticing the semi-destroyed remains of her previous face, semi-decomposed and unrecognizable, lying on the concrete.

  “Alright,” Mom said, checking her watch, “the Mass should be ending soon. My friends will be free after that. You two can stay here, I’ll go meet them behind the building.” And she walked off, leaving us at the car.

  An awkward silence settled between us. I wanted to say something, anything, to break it, but nothing clever came to mind.

  “Your powers are pretty cool,” I said, just to fill the air.

  “Thanks,” Hana replied, still stretching.

  “I noticed your mom has the same ability,” I continued.

  “Yeah,” she nodded. “It actually runs in the family. Every one of us has it.”

  “Really? So it’s like… different faces, different powers?”

  “Exactly. Each face we can manifest comes with its own ability,” Hana explained.

  “And how many faces do you have?”

  “Not counting my standard human face, five,” she said proudly. “All combat-ready. Hopefully, I’ll unlock more someday.”

  “And by ‘unlock,’ you mean…?”

  “Usually you have to sacrifice a few babies to an ancient deity,” she said deadpan.

  “What?!”

  “Gotcha,” Hana burst out laughing. “No sacrifices involved. We gain new faces through a ritual, but it’s different for everyone. The process kind of… grows with you. It’s a reward for getting stronger.”

  “So it’s like leveling up,” I said.

  “Pretty much,” she smiled. “It’s not supposed to be easy though. Each new face tests you before it lets you use it.”

  “Do the rest of your family fight too?” I asked.

  “Yeah. My mom used to be pretty serious about martial arts before she retired to raise us,” Hana said.

  Suddenly, she flinched and grabbed her left calf. “Ouch!”

  “Muscle soreness?” I asked.

  “Yeah. Guess I didn’t stretch enough before my run,” she hissed, rubbing the muscle.

  “When I was a kid, Mom told me that soreness came from the Schmerzkobold, a tiny goblin that lives inside your muscles and bites them whenever you move too much.”

  “That’s… a weird bedtime story.”

  “I think she just didn’t know how to explain it scientifically,” I added. “So she went with German folklore instead.”

  “Oh, are you German?” Hana asked.

  “Just on my mom’s side,” I said. “She told me my dad was Hungarian.”

  That was all I knew about him.

  “And you must be Japanese, right?” I asked.

  “What? No, I’m Chinese!” she said, pretending to be offended. “All Asians are the same to you?”

  “You’re not getting me with that one,” I grinned. “You literally said ohayou when we got here. That’s Japanese for ‘good morning.’”

  “It was worth a try,” Hana chuckled, stretching again.

  I was just about to ask what kind of paranormal she and her family were when Mom interrupted us.

  “Get ready, kids!” she called as she walked back toward us—with two women at her side.

  “Max, Hana,” she said, gesturing to them, “these are Alexa and Aletta.”

  For a second, I thought she was pointing to two people standing close together, but then I realized they were one.

  Alexa and Aletta were conjoined twins.

  They were fused at the side, but each twin had her own pair of legs, arms, and torso. At first glance, they almost looked like two women standing shoulder-to-shoulder, until you noticed the seamless way their bodies connected.

  The sight alone was strange enough, but the contrast between the two made it even stranger.

  Aletta looked like the picture of modesty: a neat churchgoer’s outfit, a soft cardigan, and a silver crucifix resting on her chest.

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  Alexa, on the other hand, looked like she had just come from a haunted nightclub. She wore black from head to toe, with streaks of red in her hair and nails painted to match. While Aletta politely greeted us, Alexa fished a pair of mismatched earrings from her pocket (one an upside-down cross, the other an ankh) and slid them into her earlobes.

  “Excuse me,” Aletta scolded. “Could you wait until we get home? We’re still near the Lord’s house.”

  “Hey, I kept them in my pocket while we were inside,” Alexa said, pulling out a necklace with a pentagram pendant. “Don’t test my patience, sister.”

  “Girls, stop bickering and get in the car,” Mom sighed.

  “Oh, sorry, Creepy,” Aletta said, giving an apologetic smile. “We just get carried away sometimes. Thanks for offering us a ride, by the way. We can’t drive, don’t exactly fit into one front seat, and I hate taking the bus.”

  “I love taking the bus,” Alexa joined. “People stare. Makes me feel special.”

  “They’re not looking at us,” Aletta added. “They’re looking at your indecently large cleavage.”

  “I said, get in the car!” Mom repeated, louder this time.

  The twins finally obeyed, maneuvering themselves awkwardly but efficiently into the backseat. Alexa entered first, being on the left side made it easier, but Aletta had to crouch halfway through the motion because of their shared torso. I couldn’t help but smile.

  I sat in the passenger seat beside Mom, while Hana took the backseat next to the twins.

  ***

  “Long time no see, girls,” Mom said as she drove. “I think the last time we met was before I became a parent.”

  “Yeah, same here,” Alexa replied. “We’ve both had kids since then.”

  “I think I saw them at the tournament on Friday,” Mom said.

  “They’re hard to miss,” Alexa chuckled.

  “Why don’t your husbands drive you to church?” Mom asked.

  “My husband’s on a business trip in the Vatican,” Aletta said proudly.

  “And I’m single,” Alexa added, throwing a playful wink at the rearview mirror. I wasn’t sure if it was meant for Mom, me, or both.

  “What about your kids?” Mom continued.

  “They’re busy preparing for next Saturday’s tournament,” Aletta said. “Oh—stop here. We’re home.”

  Mom parked in front of a large building that looked more like a chapel than a house, complete with angel statues in the garden and on the roof.

  ***

  We entered the building. The exterior reflected Aletta’s style: neat, orderly, almost church-like, but the inside was dominated by Alexa’s taste. Paintings with dark, demonic motifs covered the walls, and grotesque statues lurked in corners.

  There were a few saintly paintings and small statues of Jesus and angels, but the overall vibe leaned heavily toward the eerie and unsettling.

  “Coffee, anyone?” Alexa asked as she prepared mugs for herself and Aletta.

  Mom accepted one. Hana and I shook our heads; we were too eager to start the training to be distracted by caffeine.

  “So, who are we fighting today? Their kids?” Hana asked, excited to fight.

  “And what exactly is the objective of this training?” I added.

  “Today, we’re focusing on fighting opponents with unusual body shapes. It’s essential to get ready for any kind of weird anatomy you might encounter.” Mom answered.

  “So… we’re going to fight you?” I pointed at the twins.

  “Not us. Well… not directly.” Alexa replied.

  “Are you both ready?” Aletta asked.

  “Yes,” we said in unison, though I could feel my stomach tighten a little at the thought of facing something unknown.

  “Great. Follow us,” Aletta instructed, and the twins led the way.

  We stepped into a wide yard with a garden in the center, enclosed by the building in a circular formation.

  “Nice,” Mom said. “Fresh air, plenty of space, and no onlookers to worry about.”

  The twins stopped in the middle of the yard, each still cradling a mug of coffee.

  “Show them what you’ve got, girls,” Mom instructed.

  “I’ll start,” Aletta said softly. She closed her eyes and clasped her hands together as if in prayer.

  A few seconds later, a burst of light flared in front of her.

  “What the…?” Hana gasped.

  A figure took form; a tall, robed man with radiant white wings jutting from his back. It looked like an angel that had stepped right out of a stained-glass window.

  “That’s the power of faith,” Mom said with a smile.

  “It’s… not real, right?” Hana asked.

  “Oh, it’s real enough,” Aletta said, giving the angel’s wing a gentle tap.

  “No, I mean… not a real angel.”

  “You guessed it,” Mom nodded. “That’s a Tulpa.”

  “Tulpa?” I echoed. “Like… imaginary things that come to life if you think about them hard enough? Like in The Empty Man?”

  “Exactly,” Alexa replied with a grin, folding her arms into the shape of devil horns. “We’re both professional Tulpa-makers.”

  A puff of smoke erupted beside her, and suddenly a red serpent with seven horned heads slithered into existence.

  “Our faith is strong enough to create Tulpas on our own, without outside help,” Aletta explained, still calm and collected beside her holy creation.

  “Do they have any powers?” Hana asked, her eyes yoyoing between the angel and the serpent.

  “They can, if we take the time to build them properly,” Alexa said. “But for training purposes, these are just… odd-looking opponents. Think of them like unusually shaped humans or animals.”

  “In other words,” Mom added, “they’re perfect for what we’re doing today.”

  “Who wants to start?” Alexa asked.

  “You know what? I’ll go first,” Mom said. “That way I can show Max how to handle these kinds of creatures.”

  “Cool! I’ve been dying to see you fight live,” Hana said, grinning.

  Mom stepped forward, approaching the monsters.

  “Can you do it less disgustingly this time?” Aletta asked. I wasn’t sure what she meant, but Alexa rolled her eyes.

  “Don’t worry,” Mom replied. “I’ll keep it clean. No powers, just standard combat. You need to learn how to fight strange shapes with basic techniques.”

  “Aww, and here I was hoping for your gross powers,” Alexa teased.

  “Sorry to disappoint,” Mom smirked. “Now, send your monsters at me.”

  The monsters responded immediately.

  The Angel launched into the air, summoning a sword of light. He dove at Mom, the blade humming as it sliced downward, but she sidestepped.

  Before he could recover, she was behind him. She grabbed the base of his wings and, in a single fluid move, leaned back and slammed him headfirst into the ground. The Angel twitched once, then went limp.

  Mom straightened just in time to see the seven-headed serpent charging her from behind.

  With a spinning roundhouse kick, she struck the cluster of necks, snapping them sideways. The serpent reeled, but she was already moving, jumping forward, wrapping her arms around the base of its necks.

  “If you’re fighting something with multiple heads,” she explained, as the creature writhed, “you can still use a headlock. Always grab where the necks branch out, it’s their weak point.”

  The heads thrashed wildly, snapping and twisting, but Mom adjusted her grip, sliding her arms higher.

  “Once you’ve got control,” she continued, “move up so they can’t bite or headbutt you.”

  The serpent tried to coil around her, tail whipping in desperation, but she tightened her hold and choked it out.

  It fell to the ground beside the fallen Angel.

  “See? You can fight monsters even without powers. You just need the right technique.” She said, dusting off her hands.

  Then the sisters began summoning more and more grotesque creatures.

  First came an angelic centaur clad in golden armor, with a pair of sparkling wings sprouting from his back.

  "If an enemy has four or more legs, always go for the front ones," Mom said, stepping forward. She hooked her leg and swept the centaur’s front legs from under him. The mighty creature crashed to the ground. Mom instantly mounted his back and locked him in a rear-naked choke, tightening until the angelic horse-man went limp.

  She barely finished, but the next opponent appeared: a pair of conjoined demon twins. They shared the same red skin, cloven hooves, and curling goat horns. They were conjoined in the same way as their creator with her sister.

  Mom went for another leg sweep, this time targeting only the inner pair of legs. The twins wobbled and staggered, just long enough for her to grab one horn from each and slam their heads together.

  “Teamwork issues,” Mom quipped.

  Aletta’s next Tulpa appeared: a giant, bald, disembodied head with tiny bird wings sprouting across its scalp like feathered hair. The whole thing was human-sized. I could tell since the twins beside it were the same height as it.

  It let out a roar and began rolling toward Mom like a bowling ball.

  “In the case of large enemies,” she said as it picked up speed, “their torsos, if they have one, might shrug off normal attacks, but their faces are still just as sensitive.”

  She dashed forward and drove her heel straight into the creature’s philtrum. (It's the groove between the nose and upper lip.) The head let out a strangled howl and froze in place. Mom followed up with two quick jabs, one to each giant eye. They were an easy target since they were the size of a human's head.

  The monster whimpered and went still.

  Before anyone could relax, Alexa snapped her fingers and a new Tulpa materialized: a small, black, imp-like creature with grasshopper legs. Barely the size of an action figure. It dashed and jumped around the place, bouncing off statues and pillars.

  Mom calmly waited, tracking it with her eyes. When it darted close, she smacked it with an open palm.

  “When fighting unusually small enemies,” she said between slaps, “use an open hand instead of a fist. You’ll have a bigger chance of landing a hit.”

  The Imp squealed, but kept coming. Mom hit it again. And again. And again. Ten slaps later, it finally slowed down, wobbled, and collapsed face-first onto the ground, twitching in defeat.

  Aletta’s next divine danger soared into being: a flying great white shark, its fins replaced by shiny angel wings. It floated through the air as gracefully as if it were swimming through invisible water.

  It swooped toward Mom with jaws wide open.

  Mom reacted instantly, driving her heel upward into its chin, forcing its mouth shut mid-lunge.

  “Bestial enemies love bite attacks,” she said calmly. “If you can’t dodge, force the mouth shut.”

  Before the shark could recover, Mom grabbed its tail, spun once like an Olympic hammer thrower, and slammed the creature headfirst into the ground.

  “Alright, my turn.” Alexa grinned.

  Dark mist coiled around her hands as the next Tulpa materialized: a towering, three-meter-tall Succubus. The resemblance to her creator was uncanny: same raven-black hair streaked with red, same wicked smile, even the same Gothic clothes.

  “Beautiful, isn't she?” Alexa smirked.

  The Succubus lifted a leg and stomped, the ground shaking as Mom dodged out of the way. Then, she twisted and drove a high kick straight into the demon’s knee. The joint cracked, and the giant dropped onto both knees with a hiss of pain.

  “When fighting giant humanoids,” Mom said, “go for the limbs first. It’s the quickest way to bring them down.”

  Before the creature could react, Mom launched a roundhouse kick square into its face.

  “Ha! That was a nice little exercise,” Mom said, brushing her hands together.

  “Nice little exercise?” Alexa crossed her arms. “You’ve seen nothing yet. We can make real Tulpas for real fights. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten.”

  “You’re falling into the deadly sin of anger, sister,” Aletta said sternly. Then she turned to Mom. “And you, Creepy, are falling into pride.”

  Alexa grinned. “What do you say, sis? Should we show her what real power looks like?”

  Aletta hesitated, then nodded. “Fine, but I will do it, so I can keep everything within limits. The young ones are here, and I don’t want anything broken.”

  She began to pray again, and with a golden flash of light, the next enemy appeared.

  This one was easily her most grotesque creation so far.

  A massive, wheel-shaped entity, the size of a tractor tire, floated in the air like a halo of horror. Its surface was covered in golden baby faces, each one blinking, smiling, and twitching in unison.

  “Huh. Pretty grotesque,” Mom said, as if Aletta had just shown her a new haircut instead of summoning a nightmare.

  “It’s glorious, not grotesque,” Aletta corrected primly.

  “Well, that’s definitely an interesting shape. Especially with all the heads,” Mom mused, circling it like a scientist examining a specimen. “Does it have any special powers?”

  “Just this,” Aletta said with a playful wink.

  One of the baby faces yawned open, and a tiny golden arrow shot out, zipping past Mom’s head and lodging itself in a pillar. A moment later, it dissolved into glittering dust.

  “Our kids usually use this one for reflex training,” Alexa added.

  “My reflexes need no training,” Mom said cockily.

  “Let’s see about that,” Aletta smiled.

  The wheel began to spin. Dozens of baby mouths lit up, and then hundreds of golden arrows burst forth, firing at her in a rapid barrage.

  She didn’t dodge. She greeted the first arrow with a karate chop, splitting it into dust. Then another. And another.

  In moments, the air was filled with angelic arrows, but Mom struck each projectile out of existence, using one hand for high shots and one leg for low ones.

  For several minutes, the creature fired relentlessly. Hundreds (if not thousands) of arrows rained toward her, yet none touched her.

  “I’ll admit,” she said between chops, her tone calm and cocky, “this one’s pretty good training… for beginners.”

  The twins were half impressed, half irritated.

  Mom stepped closer, and the wheel responded by spinning faster, the golden storm intensifying. But she matched it, striking each arrow the moment it formed, moving with inhuman speed.

  Finally, she closed the distance completely. Instead of deflecting arrows, she started punching the faces directly, each blow landing on a chin to force the mouths shut before they could fire.

  She moved faster and faster, her arms turning into a blur. In seconds, every face had gone silent, their mouths clenched shut, unwilling to open again.

  When it was over, she stood before the defeated wheel, completely unfazed, not even a bead of sweat on her skin.

  “That was fun,” Mom said casually.

  The twins looked slightly deflated, especially Aletta.

  “Alright, kids,” Mom turned to us. “Your turn. Except for that wheel thing. That one’s a little out of your league… for now.”

  ***

  We started our turn, facing the same opponents Mom had, using mostly the same methods.

  The Angel was easy to handle. I dodged his first attack, grabbed him, and slammed him to the ground just like Mom did, though I cheated a little with my tactile telekinesis. Even if he was imaginary, he had very real weight.

  The serpent, on the other hand, was a nightmare. Every time I managed to lock its seven necks, one or two slipped free. It took four full tries before I got them all restrained at once.

  The angelic centaur and the conjoined demons were more manageable. The rolling giant head, though, gave me hell. My timing was off every time I tried to kick it. It took almost a dozen attempts before I managed to land one properly. I’ve always had issues with timing kicks.

  The imp was another tricky one, but after a few failed grabs, I finally caught it mid-jump.

  Funnily enough, the flying shark was one of the easier ones. I just grabbed one of its wings as it tried to bite me and slammed it into the ground with my telekinesis.

  The giant succubus gave me the most trouble. I tried to mimic Mom’s knee kick, but I was too short, so I ended up kicking her in the middle of the calf instead. Still, it did the job after a while.

  Hana adapted quicker than I did. She only needed a few extra tries with the shark, but otherwise, she handled everything faster and cleaner than me.

  “Not bad,” Mom said. “Do you have much experience fighting paranormal entities?”

  “Sort of,” Hana replied. “Most of my experience comes from watching other people’s fight recordings.”

  Mom checked her watch. “Oh, look at that, lunchtime already.”

  “Thanks for helping us out today,” Mom told the twins. “It's time for us to leave.”

  “You’re welcome,” Aletta said warmly.

  “Come back anytime,” Alexa added as we headed out.

  Once we were in the car, Hana leaned forward, still restless. “Please tell me that’s not it for today. I just got into the mood to fight.”

  Mom smirked as she started the engine. “Don’t worry, that was just the warm-up.”